Daoirí Farrell: Voicing the Tradition

2016 was a big year for singer and bouzouki player Daoirí Farrell. His album True Born Irishman won him two BBC Folk Awards, and he launched his career as a professional musician at Celtic Connections, leaving behind his kit bag as a working electrician for the songs and tunes of the folk tradition.

His 2023 album The Wedding Above in Glencree drew wide acclaim, seeing him hailed as one of Ireland’s finest traditional singers. It’s the depth of these traditions that he brings to light and makes his own when he comes on stage. Among The Wedding’s highlights is Irish Traveller singer Thomas McCarthy’s ‘Clasped to the Pig’. Farrell first heard McCarthy at An Góilin Traditional Singers circle in Dublin. “I sat and had a song with him. He was singing incredible songs,” he recalls. “The Singers circle is an absolute grail for anyone looking for songs or looking to research songs. All of the people who tend to know things about songs tend to be there.”

Farrell will be performing as part of Dublin’s TradFest in January at another venue that has shaped his musical life, Áras Chrónáin Ionad Cultúir. “It’s 20 minutes away from where I live, and that’s where I got my very first lesson in Irish traditional music, ever. When I go in there, it’s like a second home to me. I’ll do a mixture of old repertoire and new stuff,” he adds. “I’ll feel comfortable doing that there.”

When it comes to breaking in and inhabiting new songs – either from the tradition or from songwriters – Farrell goes for the shared house approach. “I tend to get into the background of the song to figure out what actually happened, and why the song was written, and who it was written by, where it comes from. I’d listen to different people singing it, though I wouldn’t actually listen to any one version of a song too much in case it influenced me. And then I’ll try and bouzouki-fy it.”

He tours the UK in March, breaking in more new tunes for a partly recorded album. “There were four or five songs from The Wedding Above in Glencree that didn’t make the cut, and I was in the studio two weeks ago, and two weeks before that, for a day or two. I’ve tried it all different ways, but the way I’d like to do it is to book one week and go and do everything in that one week. That’s the way that suits me. It’s the closest to a live version of a song that I can do.”

Since his 2016 breakthrough, Irish traditional music has gone through several rounds of evolution and revolution, with the likes of Lankum redefining its borders and centre. “I saw those guys starting out, and I used to play in sessions with them, and it’s great to see where they’ve gone, it’s just brilliant. The traditional music scene in Dublin is absolutely flying. There’s sessions and music every night of the bloody week. It’s really great.” Not that, as a father to young children, he can get out as much as he may like. But the thing about kids is that they grow up. “They’re not old enough to bring out to the pub yet, or to play an instrument,” he admits, “but I’ll get them there…” 

+ Daoirí Farrell plays Dublin’s TradFest on January 25 and tours the UK in March 2025. Tour dates at daoiri.com